# Bloom or Plume



## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

Hello Everyone..

Well I wondered what a blooming cigar looked like. I was a little shocked when I ran across my first one last night. I opened up a 3 pack of Cristo #2s when I saw the cap on one of them covered in what looked like a white fungus/powder. I'm pretty certain it's not mold. No marks on the wrapper when I wipe some of the bloom away. If you know differently please let me know.

I hope to smoke it tonight. I just wanted to share the excitement


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## zemekone (Aug 1, 2004)

can u take better picts? it look too spotty to be bloom, but i cant really tell cuz of the clarity...


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

I'll try and get a clearer pic uploaded tonight.. was too lazy to pull out the camera.. just used a camera-phone.


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## omowasu (Aug 9, 2006)

Are those Habanos or NC's? The island Montes tend to plume / bloom quite extensively, especially in the triple-cap area. I havent seen significant bloom on NC Montes.


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## replicant_argent (May 13, 2006)

zemekone said:


> can u take better picts? it look too spotty to be bloom, but i cant really tell cuz of the clarity...


:tpd:


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## mhillsing23 (Apr 18, 2006)

Yeah, it is tough to tell with those pics.


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

The pictures are very blured, so it's impossible to tell. Please put up better photos.

This is not definitive, but one almost positive way to ID Plume is that is it always pure white in color! If there is any color, especially blue, green & yellow it is Mold!

Johnny


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## moki (Jan 12, 2004)

Looks like mold to me... though a more clear picture would help, I'm not sure it'd change my opinion.


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## Boston_Dude05 (Oct 10, 2006)

Just a newbie question, what is bloom and what is plume? Is it good to have these? I only know mold is bad


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## n2advnture (Aug 9, 2004)

Looks like mold to me but better pics would help (change your camera to "macro" mode - usually a little flower symbol)

~M


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

omowasu said:


> Are those Habanos or NC's? The island Montes tend to plume / bloom quite extensively, especially in the triple-cap area. I havent seen significant bloom on NC Montes.


It is a habano...

Sorry for the crappy pictures to everyone else... but I am concerned that it could be mold. All the spots are pure white, powdery consistency..

This was the only one in the 3 pack to show any spots on it. My gut shot reaction when I saw it was shock...


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

khubli said:


> It is a habano...
> 
> Sorry for the crappy pictures to everyone else... but I am concerned that it could be mold. All the spots are pure white, powdery consistency..


IMHO, if it's as you state above, your okay! No need to worry, is sounds like Plume!

Johnny


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## RPB67 (Mar 26, 2005)

Some of the coloring looks a bit like mold and it is also clumpy like mold.

A better picture would definatley be better.


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## moki (Jan 12, 2004)

Boston_Dude05 said:


> Just a newbie question, what is bloom and what is plume? Is it good to have these? I only know mold is bad


Bloom and plume are two names for the same thing; it is the result of oils secreting from cigar wrapper leaf, and crystalizing on the outer surface. Plume/bloom generally is the result of years of restive aging, and doesn't affect the taste of the cigar one way or another, it's just a delicious indicator of age.

Now different wrapper leafs and different conditions can affect what plume/bloom will look like, and how long it takes to appear. Sticks that are handled often will almost never develop plume/bloom because the act of handling rubs off any nascent plume/bloom.

Bloom/plume is also usually fairly uniform in appearance across the entire cigar; mold on the other hand usually develops in sequestered areas of a cigar at first, in small clustered colonies.

The pictures, even though out of focus, are very indicative of mold in my opinion. The large roundish clusters of mold colonies that are centered along one area of the cigar.

It is likely that the head of this cigar was close to the humidification unit in the humidor, and thus the mold appears clustered there.

As I said, better pictures would help, but I give this a VERY slim chance of being anything other than mold. The good news is that it can be brushed off, and the cigar smoked without a problem. It's just surface mold, it hasn't penetrated the cigar itself.


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## moki (Jan 12, 2004)

JohnnyFlake said:


> The pictures are very blured, so it's impossible to tell. Please put up better photos.
> 
> This is not definitive, but one almost positive way to ID Plume is that is it always pure white in color! If there is any color, especially blue, green & yellow it is Mold!
> 
> Johnny


There are plenty of strains of mold that are pure white as well, that's not a good indicator.


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## Puffin Fresh (Nov 1, 2006)

moki said:


> Bloom and plume are two names for the same thing; it is the result of oils secreting from cigar wrapper leaf, and crystalizing on the outer surface. Plume/bloom generally is the result of years of restive aging, and doesn't affect the taste of the cigar one way or another, it's just a delicious indicator of age.
> 
> Now different wrapper leafs and different conditions can affect what plume/bloom will look like, and how long it takes to appear. Sticks that are handled often will almost never develop plume/bloom because the act of handling rubs off any nascent plume/bloom.
> 
> ...


From this description, I am certain some RyJ #1's I've had a few years had bloom. Pure white, and pretty much uniform on both of them. They had been left untouched in the tub and it wiped off easily. I haven't had one, I just separated them in case it wasn't bloom and ended up being that other stuff. I'll have one of these on a special occasion now since I know they are aged well.


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## Puffy69 (Sep 8, 2005)

n2advnture said:


> Looks like mold to me but better pics would help (change your camera to "macro" mode - usually a little flower symbol)
> 
> ~M


:tpd:


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## Ermo (Jun 3, 2006)

mold. Plume or bloom or whatever other stupid name its called is *evenly distributed*, mold is not.

Wipe it off, store it in a low-humidity environment for a few weeks and smoke away.


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## Puffin Fresh (Nov 1, 2006)

Ermo said:


> mold. Plume or bloom or whatever other stupid name its called is *evenly distributed*, mold is not.
> 
> Wipe it off, store it in a low-humidity environment for a few weeks and smoke away.


Unless you are allergic and asthmatic,

Then send them to me.  :r


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

The closer I look tonight, the more it looks like mold. Problem solved. Took an hour and a half to fix the problem.


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## pnoon (Jun 8, 2005)

That be mold.


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## moki (Jan 12, 2004)

That is 100%, absolutely, no doubt about it... MOLD!  Mind if I use the pictures for vitolas.net?


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

moki said:


> That is 100%, absolutely, no doubt about it... MOLD!  Mind if I use the pictures for vitolas.net?


feel free


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## dahigman (Jul 4, 2005)

moki said:


> That is 100%, absolutely, no doubt about it... MOLD!  Mind if I use the pictures for vitolas.net?


GREAT example (sorry bro..). Macro mode to the rescue


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## Puffy69 (Sep 8, 2005)

when you wipe off the cigar or cigars make sure you dust out the box if you have one with a small brush. like a paint brush to make sure you dont leave any in there for the future..you could also use the brush for the cigars..


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## Dr. Stogie Fresh (Nov 18, 2005)

Came on this late... nasty looking mold you got there. Tough luck, check the rest of the bunch, you don't wan't mold spores floating around your humi.

Here's another resource: Is it Mold or Bloom?

Doc


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

Dr. Stogie Fresh said:


> Came on this late... nasty looking mold you got there. Tough luck, check the rest of the bunch, you don't wan't mold spores floating around your humi.
> 
> Here's another resource: Is it Mold or Bloom?
> 
> Doc


Thanks.. I did... that was the only one in the box of 3 that had any spores on it. I took a close look at the other 2 last night as well. I'll be keeping my eyes on them. Now if that stick was in the open humidor overnight on cello'd sticks, do I need to brush off all the sticks as well?


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## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Unfortunately, after seeing those pictures, I must agree that your dealing with mold! Sorry Bro!

Johnny


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## JCK (Nov 9, 2006)

Thanks for all the consolation.. I wiped it down last night and toasted it up. It burned well right down to the band, then the wrapper needed a relight. It may have been a little too moist at the cap. I did enjoy it until there was about an inch left. Now if I could only train my mind to identify all the flavors.

thanks again for all the help, hopefully it's brother and sister won't contract the same disease.


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## Pyro (Nov 10, 2006)

If you have a good magnifying glass or a microscope it is easy to distinguish bloom from mold. Bloom is crystalline and glistens in the light. Mold look like tiny hairs with spherical bodies on top.

You don't have to be too fuzzy about removing spores from the humidor. Spores are all over tha place anyway and the only practical measure to prevent mold is to ensure that the relative humidity never goes too high. If you keep the RH below 70% there will never be any problems.


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## Liquidtensi0n (Jul 8, 2006)

khubli said:


> Thanks for all the consolation.. I wiped it down last night and toasted it up. It burned well right down to the band, then the wrapper needed a relight. It may have been a little too moist at the cap. I did enjoy it until there was about an inch left. Now if I could only train my mind to identify all the flavors.
> 
> thanks again for all the help, hopefully it's brother and sister won't contract the same disease.


There you go. I had mold on cigars that I just wiped and burned. They were all good. IMO mold just means you gotta smoke it sooner


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